Thread by @cnnphilippines

THREAD: Third telco player DITO Telecommunity holds a media briefing on its first commercial launch set today cnn.ph

Tweets by our digital producer @lisbetesmael

DITO Telecommunity chief technology officer Rodolfo Santiago: Just a few days ago, the NTC released the audit findings, showing that DITO surpassed the committed level of services bit.ly/3kS24JD

DITO chief technology officer Santiago: DITO is on track to meet its second year commitments

DICT Gregorio Honasan II is also present at the virtual launch

DICT chief: The commercial launch of DITO Telecommunity represents a big boost in the Philippine telco industry. We can expect another helpful pair of hands to nation-building

DICT chief to DITO Telecommunity: I hope you deliver your committed level of services, responsive services and quality internet amid the pandemic. We expect great things from you in the coming months

NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba thanks existing telcos Globe and PLDT for signing interconnection deals with DITO Telecommunity

NTC to DITO Telecommunity: Sana po tuloy-tuloy ang magandang serbisyo niyo sa publiko

DITO chief administrative officer Adel Tamano: We are not here only for business, but also for nation-building

DITO Chairman and CEO Dennis Uy: Without real competition [in the telco industry], the Philippines will not reach its full potential

DITO CEO Uy: In the coming weeks, you will see us rise in various areas bit.ly/3tblImT

CEO Uy: DITO is more than just a telco. We are here to serve. DITO na kami, magkita-kita tayo jan very soon

DITO chief administrative officer Tamano: Actually there are celebrities, endorsers of DITO— our frontliners. Our first customers will be our frontliners. We are giving 3,000 SIMs to our frontliners. We are starting with Davao

DITO's Santiago: Our welcome offer ₱199 will allow subscribers to experience real "unli" services bit.ly/3v20MAg

DITO chief administrative officer Tamano: We're very excited to compete in NCR. We will be in NCR in a few weeks... very soon

DITO chief administrative officer Tamano refuses to answer a question if the ₱199 promo, providing unlimited mobile services, will still run after end-March

DITO chief administrative officer Tamano on existing telcos providing cheaper promos: I'm glad they're doing it now because real competition is here

Chief technology officer Santiago says the DITO SIM cards available in market are already 5G-ready

DITO chief administrative officer Tamano declines to provide DITO's price points: One of the things we have seen, our competitors react... I think in a good way, they lower their prices. Plans yet are confidential

DITO chief administrative officer Tamano: For the initial launch, we have 10-20 stores. Araw-araw nadadagdagan. I can confidently say DITO will have a hundred stores

DITO chief technology officer Santiago: I assure you, where DITO launches, we are better or comparable with incumbents (PLDT, Globe)

Chief technology officer Santiago says DITO Telecommunity is still in talks with roaming partners.

Santiago: Kailangan mag-work kami with international bodies para mapakilala kami sa ibang telco internationally, so we could start our roaming services

Santiago on DITO's data coverage: Our basic coverage is 4G/LTE, but we are ready to offer 5G.

Based on its first performance audit, DITO's average broadband speed hit a whopping 507.5 Mbps for 5G and 85.9 Mbps for 4G

Tamano says DITO Telecommunity has been in discussion with digital payments provider, like PayMaya, for possible partnership

Santiago on DITO's initial target to capture 30% market share for its first year of operations: 37% pa lang ang population coverage namin, hindi pa [feasible]. Madali siya ma-achieve kung nasa 80% coverage na kami

Tamano: We’re here for the long haul. I'm very confident that we will get a significant market share

Tamano on DITO mobile number portability: We are fixing a few things, but maybe by July it will be available to the public.

The Mobile Number Portability Act will allow Filipinos to keep their number even if they switch to another telco bit.ly/30kL450